Dauntless
by carryon01
Summary: Tobias' choosing ceremony. What happens when Marcus Eaton leads the ceremony?


**Hey so this is a one shot I thought up. Summary explains it pretty well, also guess what? I'm in school this very second lol. Oops. Please let me know what you think :)**

Tobias walks into the kitchen at exactly 6:00 in the morning to prepare his father's breakfast, as well as his own. It is his last time performing this task, and it almost comforts him. Almost. Tobias still has 1 more guaranteed hour with the man he is forced to call his father. 1 more hour until he can _escape._ It cannot go by any slower.

Tobias does everything as usual- pours two even cups of oats and two cups of milk in the pan and turns on the stove. He is silent as the food cooks. Even the house is silent, a comforting moment for him.

However, he cannot forget that his father is still in the house. Later though, one of two occupants will be gone- forever.

Tobias hears the floor creak behind him, habitually, carefully listening to his father come down the stairs. He continues making the oatmeal; he doesn't want to burn it. He can't.

His father appears in the doorway of the small Abnegation kitchen, and Tobias inwardly feels panic beginning to bubble inside of him.

Marcus Eaton, leader of Abnegation. Leader of the selfless.

"Good morning, Tobias." he says, walking towards his son.

"Good morning, father." Tobias says, desperately trying to keep his voice steady.

Tobias tries not to flinch, tries not to tense up, as anything could set _him_ off. "Relax, Tobias." Marcus whispers, placing a hand on his shoulder, still painful from the previous night. A shiver courses throughout Tobias' body, and the panic begins to boil in him.

He continues stirring the meal, trying not to seem like he was affected by his father's seemingly simple action. Neither men say anything more. Tobias silently places the food in 2 bowls and places it on the table, going back into the kitchen and getting 2 glasses of water.

The meal is silent.

"We need to leave for the Choosing Ceremony. Don't bother with arranging your stuff, you'll be coming back after the ceremony anyways." Strange, Tobias thinks to himself. They are leaving early.

Tobias nods and carefully takes the dishes back to the sink, washing them in silence and placing them back in the cupboard.

The walk to the convention center where the Choosing Ceremony is taking place is long, and Tobias can't wait until he can finally take the train. When he can finally shed himself of this confining Abnegation culture he has been forced to call his home.

They reach the monumental building and walk inside. Tobias walks with his father and when they walk past the Abnegation sector, Marcus doesn't take his seat in the front.

Tobias continues walking, not wanting to confront his father. He sits down in the Abnegation section of the 16 year olds, and his father sits in the very front row.

In the seat of the person who presents the knife.

 _What the fuck is going on?_

The girl next to him, Stacey, tries to strike up a conversation. He politely responds, but he can't stop thinking about why his father would be sitting there. Surely, he isn't actually going to be the announcer.

 _Maybe he's just holding the seat for Mark, the Amity guy._

Sure enough, when it's time for the ceremony to start, Marcus stands up and goes to the podium. Tobias feels his heart rate rapidly increase. He begins to panic, and he feels like he may throw up.

He sits in a daze while his father gives the choosing speech. It's almost laughable, how Marcus can put on this persona, and pretend he does not beat his son every night.

"Justin Abrahim." He announces. The choosing ceremony has officially begun. The boy walks up, his dramatic Candor coat fluttering behind him. He walks up to Marcus and he hands him the knife, a kind smile on his face. Tobias practically scoffs.

The boy choose Candor, and the room erupts with noise, all from Candor.

Soon enough, Tobias' name is called. He tries to stop his hands shaking as he approaches his father, but it just keeps getting worse. _What did I do to deserve this?_

Marcus nods at him as he approaches the bowls. 5 factions. His father hands him the knife, and Tobias holds it in his hand, and can't help but laugh. His father gives him a discerning look, and Tobias' face goes blank yet again. His hands still shaking, he stares at the bowls.

 _I have to do this._

His eyes glance over the bowls for Amity and Candor, and he stares at the Abnegation bowl, contemplating it. _What a fucking joke._

He decides to mess with his father a little bit and cuts his hand while still over the small grey stones. He hears his father hum in approvement, before passing over the Abnegation bowl and stopping over the Dauntless bowl. He feels his father's eyes pierce his skull. He stares at the burning coals. _Is this really the right choice?_ He laughs at himself. _Fuck, yes._

He had threatened him about what would happen if he left, but at this moment, he doesn't care. He feels all the eyes in the building on his back. The back his father has beaten so, so many times. Whispers begin to grow throughout the building, his father even trying to communicate to him, just a foot away. "Tobias." He warns, his hand clenched in a fist. "Tobias, if you do this, I swear you will regret it."

Tobias tries to ignore his abuser's horrible voice and closes his eyes, tightly squeezing his hand over the coals, resisting the urge to smile as he hears the blood sizzle on the hot rock. Finally. He is finally free from his father. Cheers erupt from the Dauntless sector, and he hears his father curse. As he begins to walk towards the Dauntless crowd, his father tightly grabs onto his loose, grey Abnegation clothing and plasters a smile on his face. "You will regret this, Tobias." He growls. "You won't even make it through the first day."

Tobias rips himself away from his father's grasp, their eyes meeting. Marcus' black eyes bore into his soul, but this time, he does not feel afraid.

He walks to the Dauntless faction, ignoring the desperate cries of his father, and they greet him with open arms and smiles. Some of them give him wary looks, but he doesn't care. He is finally free. He is finally Dauntless.

 **what do u think?**


End file.
